I-74, Route 116 Road construction projects gearing up again

MORTON — To some commuters in Tazewell and Woodford counties, the 2014 roadwork season will look an awful lot like last year: heavy concentrations of reflective orange outside Morton and East Peoria.

Two of the most significant projects on the docket for the Illinois Department of Transportation this year are extensions of projects that began in previous seasons: the redesign of the interchange of Interstate 74 and Interstate 155 near Morton and construction of new Illinois Route 116 bridges over Ten Mile Creek.

“We’re back at it again,” said Brian Williamsen, IDOT District 4 spokesman. “We’ll be out there all year.”

The highway construction project near Morton, which is scheduled to last into 2015, will focus on Jefferson and Jackson streets and Morton Avenue. The ramp from northbound I-155 onto eastbound I-74 also will close for an extended period as it is rebuilt.

Jackson and Jefferson streets, in particular, will undergo major transformations. The Jackson Street bridge will be replaced, and the tunnels that once carried Jefferson Street traffic underneath the interstate will be removed and replaced with bridges.

Interstate bridges over an abandoned railroad track also will be demolished and the ground leveled so that new pavement can be set in place.

“We’ll try to keep two lanes open in both directions as much as we can,” Williamsen said. “As many times as we can, lane reductions will be over night.”

One such closure is scheduled for Monday night, with the left lane of eastbound I-74 and right lane of westbound I-74 from Interstate 474 to Morton Avenue scheduled to close from 5:30 p.m. Monday to 6:30 a.m. Tuesday for pavement striping operations.

Also on Monday, at one of the other major long-term projects in the district, traffic on Illinois Route 116 will shift to allow a bridge to be built over Ten Mile Creek near the highway’s junction with Illinois Route 26.

Two lanes of traffic will be maintained for motorists headed west toward Peoria, but eastbound drivers will face a reduction to one lane.

“It will definitely impact people in Germantown Hills and Metamora, especially in the afternoon on the commute home,” Williamsen said. “There’s going to be some delays on that route.”

Additional roadwork projects in the region are subject to upcoming bids and will be announced as they begin. Williamsen urged motorists to heed traffic laws in construction zones for their own safety.

“We’re asking people to be patient and plan ahead or take a different route,” he said. “Slow down, and put down the phones, please.”

Matt Buedel can be reached at 686-3154 or mbuedel@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @JournoBuedel.